Thousands of trainee doctors in South Korea yesterday returned to work after ending a more than two-week strike as the country grappled with sustained three-digit rises in new daily COVID-19 infections.
The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 136 new cases as of midnight on Monday, after the rate fell to a three-week low of 119 a day earlier. Total infections rose to 21,432, with 341 deaths.
The daily tally has steadily dropped since it reached a peak of 441 last month after the government imposed unprecedented social distancing rules to blunt a second wave of outbreaks from churches and political rallies.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Efforts to curb the latest epidemic have been complicated by a strike launched on Aug. 21 by about 16,000 intern and resident doctors against the government’s medical reform proposals.
The trainee doctors restarted work after agreeing to end the walkout on Monday, although many medical students continued to resist final licensing exams as part of the protest.
The intern and resident doctors are the backbone of healthcare services in emergency rooms and intensive care units, and hospitals have increasingly grappled with delays and disruptions amid constant rises in COVID-19 patients.
Authorities are weighing whether to extend the social distancing curbs ahead of Chuseok, one of the country’s biggest holidays this month.
The curbs, including limiting the operation of on-site dining after 9pm in the Seoul metropolitan area, were extended for another week until Sunday.
Seoul yesterday imposed an entry ban on some of the biggest parks along the Han River, which saw a surge in the number of nightly visitors since the restrictions took effect. Cafes, convenience stores and parking lots in all 11 riverside parks are to be closed by 9pm.
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